Abortion is the 21st Century Prohibition Issue

There is no doubt that the Bible is clear that “drinking to excess” is a sin. And there’s no doubt that in the early 1900s that drinking to excess was so common that it was creating widespread social ills, destroying families, hurting businesses, and was a real social problem.

The question is, when sin is tearing at the fabric of society, is outlawing the sin the best way to solve the social problem.

It would be a massive understatement to say that the 18th Amendment had unintended consequences. Rather than erasing widespread drunkenness, Prohibition sparked a rise in crime and corruption. Saloons were supplanted by speakeasies, complete with secret passwords and off-the-menu hooch. Deadly organized crime ran rampant in cities and small towns as moonshine developed into a lucrative underground industry. The Great Depression only made things worse. The federal government spent a fortune trying in vain to enforce Prohibition, while simultaneously losing the potential revenue from taxing alcohol.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/women-campaigned-for-prohibition%e2%80%94then-many-changed-their-minds/ar-BB1aCyVK?ocid=ob-fb-enus-280

Almost 100 years later we haven’t learned anything from history or human nature, and we are in the exact same position with the abortion issue — and that with the advantage of already knowing the impossibility of enforcement and the needless lives lost BEFORE abortion was legalized by the courts.

We know that if we could overturn Roe v. Wade, the matter simply reverts to the states and that most states would still allow abortions. Even more unlikely if we could get all 50 states to outlaw abortions that we will have simply created another black market opportunity for organized crime to step into and fill the need, generate enormous profits, and as in the 30s, gain control of government.

Even knowing all that, the religious right has determined to put all their eggs in this basket. They have made a Faustian deal with the devil, agreed to elect a moral monster, wink at his racism, brutal oppression of the marginalized, his trampling of democracy and constitutional law, and his use of federal powers to enact revenge on his political foes, to say nothing of his gross immorality, financial fraud and political crimes.

This seems like a high price to pay to gamble on an outcome that history already tells us is certain to be worse than the condition we opposed. The real difference is this time is could lead to the collapse of our democracy and usher in a 2nd civil war. This gamble could end the “American Experiment” and prove that freedom is ultimately still a pipe dream.

The 2020 Election Will Permanently Break Relationships

Albert Mohler is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As you would expect he argues for why he thinks endorsing all manner of immortality, corruption and injustice (traits he openly admits Trump brings to the table) is the most Christian thing to do because it’s necessary to preserving “conservative values.” By that he means primarily maintaining opposition to abortion and gay rights.

All that is to be expected. He says regarding we Christians who disagree with him,

We each have a vote. Both of us will answer to God for that vote. We earnestly seek to persuade the other. We will likely vote differently in the end. We remain brothers and sisters in Christ.

https://albertmohler.com/2020/10/26/christians-conscience-and-the-looming-2020-election

But then he says,

I quickly lose respect for those who now endorse Joe Biden

There’s the bottom line. We are still brothers and sisters, but we are brothers and sisters who have no respect for one another and no desire to be in each other’s company.

I identify personally with the marginalized. The asylum seekers and refugees being tear gassed and turned away are my son’s and daughters, my brothers and sisters. Our black citizens being killed in our streets, that’s my daughter, my brother. I don’t just oppose these racist and oppressive policies ideologically. I’m hurt and angry. I’m personally offended. Trump couldn’t be enforcing these brutal policies without you empowering him and approving these policies with your vote. We don’t just disagree. You are murdering my family, and I don’t think I can ever forgive you for that.

What is the Image of God, and Why Does it Matter?

The Latin term ‘imago Dei’ — meaning “the image of God” — is a fundamental Judeo-Christian theological concept taken from the Genesis account of the creation story (Genesis 1):

26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth,[c] and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings[d] in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

So what does this mean to be created in the “image of God”? To put it in more understandable terms, anyone who has children understands having “created” human beings in their own image. It’s far more intimate than simply saying “he looks like me.” It’s far more than that. There’s a personal investment. Part of us is in that child. Saying “that’s my child” isn’t just a statement of ownership, it’s a statement of identity.

We often tell others that when they insult or attack our children, they are insulting or attacking us. In truth, we probably defend our children more intensely than we defend ourselves. So when you consider the relationship of humankind to God in this light, then Jesus comments in Matthew 25 make much more sense:

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[g] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

It’s the “Imago Dei” that makes every human being a diamond in the rough. It’s what gives us our value. Humans may not be created equal in the sense that we are carbon copies — we have different looks, different talents, different circumstances, etc. — but every human being is born of equal worth because of the inherent “image of God” in his/her DNA that can never be removed.

Human beings tend to think we are more important if we have wealth, position, power, looks, intelligence, and so on. Jesus clearly stated that is a fantasy. We think our self-importance makes us superior. We justify denying assistance to the poor by saying “they are lazy freeloaders” not proud self-made men like me. I shouldn’t have to help them. We can oppress and deny justice to blacks because they were slaves and an inferior class of people. Mexicans, Asians, immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, disabled, elderly, and on and on.

But Jesus says that if you neglect that poor man, you neglect me. If you oppress that black man, you oppress me. If you shoot tear gas in the face of an asylum seeker, you are shooting tear gas in my face. If you deny healthcare to the poor and elderly, you deny healthcare to me.

This makes sense of Jesus “greatest commandment” statement in Matthew 22:

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[e] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[f] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Note the “second is equally important.” Jesus is saying these go together. They are inseparable. The entire law and prophets is built on these two commandments — not one of the two, but both together. You can’t love God without also loving your neighbor. “Whatever you do to your neighbor, you do to me.”

This is why Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.” A lot of people call themselves Christians, but the true disciples are easy to tell apart from the fakes. Anyone who does not fervently defend the rights and needs of the poor, the disabled and the marginalized, is not a Christian. By supporting policies that neglect and oppress these people, they are actively oppressing and attacking Jesus Christ. That, by very definition, is anti-Christ.

What is Legalism? And Why Is It Anti-Christ?

If you asked someone, “Are most people you know self-centered?” (Or you could name any other of a dozen sins). They will undoubtedly answer “Yes!” If you ask them “Are you self-centered?”, they will answer “Absolutely not! I am a very caring and unselfish person.” Human nature, as Jesus so aptly put it, is to see the splinters in our neighbor’s eye, but not see the 2×4 sticking out of our own eye.

Legalism is the same way. Everyone you talk to knows it’s bad, and that it’s a widespread destructive disease within Christianity, but you will never talk to a person who says, “I’m a legalist.” It’s always the church or the Christian across the street that is legalistic.

So what is legalism?

Simply put, legalism is set of religious beliefs and practices that is based on a system of law (usually euphemised as “moral law”). It’s an important distinction that these laws are almost exclusively “negative laws” — that is to say naming things you cannot do. Common examples are: you can’t eat pork, you can’t drink alcohol, you can’t use tobacco, you can’t gamble, you can’t have same sex relationships, you can’t have an abortion, etc.

So what’s wrong with having laws?

1. They are man-made laws claiming to be God’s laws. It is idolatry.

2. They are used to control people. Religious people make laws that they have no problem keeping, which makes them feel like the righteous ones and gives them the authority to issues edicts of punishment over those who break the laws.

3. They work contrary to God’s revealed plan of SAVING PEOPLE. That’s why it’s called a “plan of salvation.” Laws do not save anyone. All you have to do is look at our drug laws, the prohibition era, or drunk driving laws. Laws don’t prevent whatever behavior you outlaw, laws simply give you a basis for punishing people who do those behaviors. Legalism then, turns the church into a rod of punishment rather than an instrument of salvation.

So how is legalism anti-Christ?

1. It invalidates the word of Christ. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He only had two commands we needed to keep: “love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Legalism says, “No that’s not true.” Legalism calls Jesus a liar. On the one hand it’s much easier for a person to omit certain “sins” that they aren’t inclined to, than it is to love their black or Muslim neighbor like their own family member, or instead of buying that new boat or vacation home, using that money to feed the poor or provide shelter for the homeless or medical care for the sick.

2. It invalidates the work of Christ. The New Testament books of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, especially, declare in uncertain terms that the law and grace are incompatible. That is to say that grace came to take the place of law. Romans clearly states that the purpose of the law was merely to condemn us (see point #3 above) and that the death of Christ satisfied the punishments of the law, making the law unnecessary and opening a way to God through the righteousness of Christ. We are saved by grace and that not of ourselves. It is not grace AND… The Galatian letter says those who are adding legal requirements have trampled the blood of Christ and made his death of no effect. They are putting themselves under condemnation again. We will either stand condemned by the law or we will stand saved by grace. There is no third option.

So what does that mean for me?

It means you need to reject the spirit of anti-Christ wherever you find it, even if you find it in a church. If your church or the so-called “Christians” you associate with, are focused primarily on a list of bad things they think people shouldn’t be doing (abortion, gay marriage, drinking, dancing, smoking, etc.) and yet you find they are guilty of far worse sins — tolerating/supporting racism, the oppression of the poor, immigrants, and refugees, aren’t actively involved in serving the poor, fighting for social justice, and so on; that should be a HUGE RED FLAG for you that you need to leave that association and find a body of believers that are actively involved in being an instrument of salvation and restoration.

Satan masquerades as an angel of light. There are many who call themselves Christian who are messengers of Satan intent on destroying the work of Christ. We need to have the discernment to recognize the difference and not be found to be enemies of Christ. Christ only has two laws: Love God and Love Your Neighbor. Christ’s laws don’t condemn anyone. Christ’s laws don’t bring punishment to anyone. They bring healing, restoration and reconciliation to a broken and hurting world. That is what we who call ourselves by His name are to be about. By their fruits you will recognize them.

Why Racism, Nationalism, Populism, and Individualism are Anti-Christ Values

The most common misconception in Christian circles is a complete misunderstanding of the relationship of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The book of Hebrews clearly explains that the Old Covenant (including it’s laws, tablernacle, kings, theocratic civilization, etc.), was an archetype of a kingdom to come which would be the “real thing” and replace, destroy and make obsolete they archetype, which merely served as a crude representation of the actual thing to come.

Jesus came to intiate this kingdom and for 2,000 years people haven’t been able to grasp that this kingdom isn’t political or national. Jesus didn’t come to make Israel Great Again or to Make America Great Again. He came to restore a broken and shattered humanity and bring it back into oneness with God.

Think of a large glass vase that falls and shatters into millions of tiny pieces. And then, like in the movies, some supernatural forces starts reversing this process and all these little pieces start getting sucked up into this vacuum and they all become united back with each other until there is just one vase standing there without crack or blemish, and the tiny individual pieces don’t exist anymore except as they exist as part of the vase as a whole.

That’s an exact description of the mystery of Christ’s work in establishing the “church” as the basis for this “kingdom of God”. Jesus said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches.” He went on to say that anyone that didn’t abide in Him was cut off and burned. How do we abide in Him? “Keep my commandments”, he says. What are those commandments? “Love each other.” John 15:17. Oh, well I love the people that go to my church. Not his commandment. I love the people that live on my block. Nope. I love the people that look like me and speak my language. Nope. When Jesus told them to love their neighbor, and they asked who is my neighbor, he told them a story about a man beaten and left to die; and neighbors, Jewish businessmen, rabbis, all walked by and ignored him, then a Samaritan stopped and helped the man and restored him back to health. Keep in mind Samaritans were so hated by Jews that not only would they not speak to one, they would cross the river and go miles out of route on their journeys just to avoid stepping on Samaritan soil. When Jesus said, “Go and do likewise”, he was saying “Go love the Samaritan like the Samaritan loved this man.” There is no human being on the face of the earth exempt from the commandment for us to love them as Christ loved us.

Further, if you look at this a little deeper as it’s explained in Ephesian chapter 2, we read:

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

What this is saying is that the death of Christ and the new kingdom has destroyed ethnicity and nationalism in kingdom terms. In Christ, there is no black or white, Jew or Gentile, American or Mexican, rich or poor, liberal or conservative. What he is saying is that the cross is bringing us back into one body through our being united with Christ. There is just one body, one vine, one family. Just like the shards of glass being brought back to oneness as a vase, I am one with my black and Jewish and Mexican and poor neighbors as part of the body of Christ. I can no longer say “ME”. I don’t exist except as part of the body of Christ. That’s why Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live, except as Christ lives through me.”

The ENTIRE Christian story is a story of fallen humans with the image of God being restored; and the brokenness and fallenness of humanity is being repaired through an act of grace whereby these broken shards of humanity are being melded and assimilated into the body of Christ. One Lord. One Body. One People. There is no individualism. Our identity is lost in our new identity as a member of the body of Christ. There is no nationalism. Our national identity is swallowed up by our new identity as the body of Christ ruling in a new spiritual kingdom that encompasses the entire world as one humanity. Our ethnic identities are swallowed up by our new identity as a child of God.

Anyone still holding on to values of racism, nationalism, populism and individualism are cut off from the body of Christ. Not only are they not yet in Christ, they have no understanding of what it means to be in Christ or what the goal of Christianity IS. From before the world, God’s plan was to restore fallen humanity to himself through a process of reconciliation that makes one body and one people of the entire human race. If that isn’t your shared vision and passion, then you aren’t Christian in any sense of the term.